Cardale's Cannon: Bills rookie QB Cardale Jones has all the tools to succeed

Cardale's Cannon: Bills rookie QB Cardale Jones has all the tools to succeed

The Buffalo Bills may have just signed quarterback Tyrod Taylor to a contract extension, but during Saturday night’s preseason opener it was another quarterback who stole the show against the Indianapolis Colts.

That quarterback was none other than rookie fourth-round pick Cardale Jones.

And though Jones got off to a bit of a slow start against the Colts after entering the game midway through the third quarter, the former collegiate football darling displayed his cannon arm time and time again, albeit sometimes erratically, before eventually putting it all together on the very last drive of the game.

With 1:03 remaining in the final quarter and no timeouts left to spare, Buffalo’s rookie gunslinger was faced with a 19-12 deficit and 83 yards between him and the end zone.

Jones didn’t bat an eye.

The Ohio State product went 3-for-6 on the drive for 66 yards, while also adding 12 yards on the ground when he scrambled to pick up a first down on a fourth-and-10 at Indianapolis’ 21-yard line, keenly diving out of bounds to stop time with eight ticks left on the game clock.

Following a defensive pass interference call on the ensuing play, Jones had one shot left to get the ball into the end zone.

He did just that.

Standing tall in the midst of a barrage of pass rushers, Jones waited until the last possible moment for an opening before firing the ball between a slew of defenders into the arms of wideout Jarrett Boykin, who hauled in the pass for a 4-yard touchdown to draw closer at 19-18 before the team ultimately failed on the two-point conversion attempt.

It was a small sample size, but the fourth-rounder finished the game 11-for-21 for 162 yards and one touchdown pass, while adding 34 yards on four carries. He was Buffalo’s leading passer in the game and was second in rushing behind rookie running back Jonathan Williams, who finished with 44 yards on eight carries.

There were inconsistencies in his footwork and his touch on some passes. But, plays like his 14-yard scramble up the middle late in the fourth quarter, which was a direct result of a fake shovel pass to tight end Nick O’Leary, or his 40-yard bullet to wide receiver Walter Powell on the final drive of the game are the glimpses of greatness that have been seen from the Cleveland native since his college days.

What was more telling, however, was Jones’ attitude following the loss. He didn’t laugh it off or chalk it up as simply his first NFL preseason game.

No. The rookie had the look and sound of a man with a burning desire to succeed inside. And, anything less is going to be unacceptable.

“Almost don’t count,” Jones said when asked during his post-game press conference about nearly getting it done at the end of Saturday’s preseason opener. “But, it was fun definitely. Finally going against another team and guys can hit you, so kind of speed up that thought process.”

The Bills’ rookie signal caller struggled to find a rhythm early on in his NFL debut, bobbling and nearly fumbling away his first snap of the game which came from under center — something quite unfamiliar to Jones. However, the former Buckeye seemed unfazed by the near disaster.

Faced with a second-and-11 on the ensuing play, Jones again set himself from under center, sold a play-action fake to James Wilder Jr., shrugged off a rushing defender, climbed the pocket and rifled a 13-yard pass to tight end Blake Annen on the far left side of the field on an out route for a first down. It was exactly what offensive coordinator Greg Roman wants to see from his quarterbacks, and it was another example of the potential Jones has.

Things only continued to progress in a positive direction as the game wore on for Buffalo’s current third-stringer, and he nearly pulled off a game-winning drive the first time ever stepping foot on a professional field for a game. There’s something about the Glenville High School product.

It takes a special kind of player, leader and person in general to be able to do what Jones did while at Ohio State.

Coming off the bench at the tail end of the 2014 college football season, Buffalo’s newest quarterback made his first collegiate start and beat No. 11 Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten title game before reeling off two more consecutive wins over No. 1 Alabama and then No. 2 Oregon in the national championship game.

He finished his collegiate career 11-0 as a starter, the best winning percentage in school history of any Buckeye quarterback with at least 10 starts. It was up and down at times, but there’s no denying Jones is a winner.

Bills coach Rex Ryan can see it, and it’s looking like his teammates might be beginning to witness it as well.

“Cardale is an interesting young man,” Ryan said with a smile during his post-game press conference on Saturday. “When he’s over there yelling at G-Ro (Greg Roman) the play that he wanted in a crucial situation, I mean the young man is — I’m telling you — he’s pretty special. We’ve got to be able to protect him and, the same thing, when we protect our quarterbacks we can throw it. That was really exciting.”

Ryan followed that up by sharing a similar sentiment to Jones, saying that he hates to lose. Nevertheless, he was impressed by the rookie.

There’s a ways to go in his development, as he seems to more often than not still have a predetermined destination for the ball before throwing it (Jarrett Boykin may have been open on the two-point conversion), but there’s no denying that Jones has all of the tools necessary to one day become a star in the NFL.

The young quarterback agrees that there’s still plenty to improve upon.

“A couple of plays I’m disappointed with myself, and I’m not really getting it done,” Jones said while shrugging his shoulders at a question regarding a performance grade for himself in Saturday’s press conference. “I mean, you guys can look at it however you want — good start, bad start — but we still lost the game. I know it’s a preseason game, but things like that eat at me.

“It’s kind of hard to enjoy. You know, hey I played my first NFL game, had fun, game-winning drive, but we didn’t really get it done. And, that kind of falls on my shoulders being the quarterback of that last drive.”

Those words show the type of competitor Jones is. He’s fearless, and he doesn’t seem to care what anybody else thinks of him. It appears as if he’s only concerned with how he views his performance and how those in the team building view him.

There were questions regarding the quarterback’s ability to read defenses, his accuracy, maturity and many other things once he decided to forgo his senior year at Ohio State.

Yet, the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder has been unwavered by critics in his pursuit of the NFL dream. He’s seen the highs, and he’s seen the lows. His past experiences have molded him in a way where the big lights don’t seem to faze him.

The Bills are going to be patient with their fourth-round quarterback, but don’t be surprised to eventually see Jones become a legitimate threat as an NFL passer somewhere down the line. His mindset is right, and it’s quite possible that no moment is too big for the man with a cannon for an arm.

His future success is yet to be determined. But one thing’s for certain, Jones isn’t taking any of this for granted.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. It was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting in more preseason games, and who knows? We go from there,” Jones said Saturday. “But, I mean, the experience was unbelievable kind of to get out there with the guys … We’ve been killing each other for the last two weeks of camp, and finally you see how we react to another team — it’s been amazing.”

Saturday night’s performance was a stepping stone in the right direction for Jones. It’s now up to him to continue on the path to success.

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